


If You Be My Bodyguard, I Can Be Your Long Lost Pal

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:25:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1706369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve realizes he might need a bit of help finding Bucky, so he goes to the only person he can think of who might be able to: Tony.</p><p>Eventual slow-burn Steve/Tony, mostly MCU with some stuff - mostly characters - pulled from 616. And a very Fraction-inspired Hawkguy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Usual disclaimers. Not mine, no money made, etcetera

Steve sank into Sam’s couch, opening the soda that had been thrust into his hand.

“So, finding this friend of yours. Any idea where to start?” Sam asked, popping the top on his own can and leaning back in his armchair. “Because, you know, it’s not going to be easy without a giant spy agency at your back.”

“Do you know how to run a credit card check?” Steve asked.

“Shit, no. I’m a pilot, not an IT tech,” Sam grinned. “Or a pretty super-spy. Best I can offer is my laptop and Google.”

Steve frowned. “Yeah, already tried that.”

“No ideas, then?”

“I have one,” Steve said. “And I don’t like it. But if Bucky’s remembering, he’s probably going to look for familiar places, so we probably need to head to New York anyway.”

“New York?”

“Yeah. Home, for me and Bucky. And Tony Stark’s there. If anyone has the resources to find him, that’s it,” Steve said. “That is, if he’s willing to help me.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to say no to Captain America when he’s being earnest, Steve.”

“I think Stark probably could.”

* * *

Tony was in his workshop, music blaring, putting the final touches on a suit he’d promised he wouldn’t make. The latest version of the arc reactor glowed in its chest instead of his own, and it was the finest machine he’d ever built, even if he did say so himself.

“Sir,” JARVIS spoke. “Captain Rogers and a Sam Wilson are here to see you.”

Tony blinked. “Wait, what? Pics or it didn’t happen, Jar.”

A holographic image of the security camera feed from the desk on ground floor flickered to life in front of him.

“Is that wing guy?” Tony asked, zooming in to the pair standing awkwardly in the lobby of the tower.

“That does appear to be ‘wing guy’, sir.”

“Awesome. Send them up, to the Avengers levels, Common Floor. I’ll meet them there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony tapped at his desk for a moment before pulling up a comm link to the labs.

“Looks like we might have guests for dinner, dear,” he said, not waiting for Bruce to look up from his test tubes.

The other scientist quirked a smile at the camera. “Oh?”

“Cap and Wing Guy. Gonna go see what they want. Everyone wants something, these days.”

"We're becoming a veritable halfway house for SHIELD refugees," Bruce said, leaning back over his latest experiment. “Be nice, Tony,” he admonished.

“Me? I’m always nice.”

Bruce just hummed and drew a brightly colored liquid into a pipette, ignoring him entirely. Tony cut the feed and proceeded to his elevator, JARVIS taking him to the right floor without any further input.

Steve was standing just as awkwardly in the center of the sprawling living area, but Sam had made himself at home on one of the plush couches. Tony grinned his usual media grin and went over to introduce himself.

“WING GUY!” he said, ignoring Steve entirely. “Do you have them with you? I can make you something better. Just give them to me, you’ll be flying circles around anything that comes your way.”

Sam raised eyebrow at Steve before answering Tony. “I guess you can look at them. Not like they’re doing me any good in the shape they’re in, and I don’t think the Air Force wants to give me another set.”

Tony grinned happily and clapped Steve on the shoulder. “You should’ve brought him to me sooner, Cap.”

“We were a little busy, Stark,” Steve said stiffly.

“I saw, it was all over the news, big showdown and SHIELD’s all terrorists now. Can’t say I like that I designed tech for HYDRA, either, good for you to wreck it all. Why are you here?”

“It’s Bucky,” Steve started.

“Bucky Barnes?” Tony asked. "I saw on the intel that you leaked to the internet. Imagine the both of you still alive? Dad's cheering in his grave."

Steve frowned. “He’s alive, but he doesn’t remember anything. Doesn't even know who he is. We need to find him and I wondered if . . . I would owe you a huge favor if you could find him, Mr. Stark.”

Tony nodded. "Not a problem." He walked over to the window, ignoring the view in favor of engaging the holographic display. “JARVIS, pull up dad’s old photos of the Howling Commandos, run facial recognition for James Buchanan Barnes on all airport security cameras, hell, hack every security camera you can get into. Traffic cams, banks, ATMs, Malls even. Everything, start on the East Coast, then expand to US and global. Any leads in particular, Cap?”

Steve looked a little shell-shocked. “We, ah, think he might be headed here. To Brooklyn, probably. Somewhere familiar?”

“Already done. JARVIS, you hear that?”

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS answered. “Already running the search.” Numbers started flowing across the window, only slightly blocking the view of Manhattan behind it.

“Excellent, put an alarm on it and let me know the minute you have something,” with a flick of the wrist, Tony banished the screen off of the window and turned back to the room.

“Tell me you don't have Sky-Net or Hal controlling this building," Sam said, looking at the ceiling suspiciously.

"Good evening, Dave," JARVIS replied. Sam burst out laughing.

Tony grinned. “I like you, Wing Man. But no, my A.I.s don't kill people. Not that he couldn't, of course, he just doesn't want to. Now, what do you two like to eat? And don’t say apple pie.”

"See, I told you he'd say yes," Sam said to Cap, then turned to Tony. "Now, about my wings . . ."

* * *

Food was ordered and delivered and spread out on a table big enough for a banquet. Steve was surprised to see Banner show up shortly after the food arrived. Tony explained that he’d been living in the tower since the battle with the Chitauri, longer, in fact, than Tony himself had been.

They ate companionably, Sam and Steve talking about baseball, Stark and Sam talking about the wings, Banner and Steve talking about regional cuisine, Banner and Stark going on about some new scientific research, Stark and Steve carefully avoiding any conversation at all. The last discussion they’d had went pretty much the same way as their first and ended in an argument.

That had been after Tony let the rest of them believe that he was dead for nearly a week. Steve had found out that he was still alive from a tabloid and had shown up to tear him a new one. And then felt guilty about it for weeks. So he maintained the silence as the only way the two of them could manage anything resembling 'companionable.'

After dessert, which was, in fact, apple pie, Steve stood to thank Stark for the dinner and say his goodbyes.

“Wait, what?” Tony said, stopping in the middle of an incomprehensible explanation of his suit articulation. “No. No hotels. You’re both staying here.”

Steve shook his head. “No, we’ve taken advantage of your hospitality enough, Stark, and I’m grateful to you for helping us find Bucky, but I couldn’t impose on you more.”

“I won’t hear of it. The top floors are all empty, except for my penthouse and Bruce’s apartment,” Tony smiled that TV-show smile. “It’s not like it’ll be a hassle.”

Sam gave Steve a look. “You know, it is kind of late to be finding a room.”

“There you have it. You’re outvoted,” Tony said.

Steve opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and agreed. Bruce smiled at him, picking up the journal he’d had in his hand when he came up and heading over to one of the too-plush chairs to read.

“You might as well go with it, Steve,” he said. “This place is like Hotel California.”

“You know you love it here, Jolly Green,” Tony quipped.

Bruce smiled again. “I really, really do. Goodnight Steve, Sam.”

Steve let himself be led to the elevator, Sam trailing behind them. Once inside, Tony leaned against one wall and said “JARVIS, you know where we’re going.”

“Yes, sir,” the A.I. answered, and the elevator started moving.

* * *

Tony was even more fidgety than usual as the elevator doors opened onto a hallway, only two doors leading off of it, one left and one right. He opened the right-hand door without so much as a key, into a comfortable apartment that took up at least half of the floor.

“Top ten floors are like this, each apartment takes up half the floor, below that there’s the common floor, a gym, archery and gun range, Bruce’s lab and my workshop, Hulk playpen, training facility, a few other things, takes up about five floors, then between that and the regular SI offices are Maria’s office and the ones for her staff, another five floors.” he droned like a real estate agent.

“Maria’s?”

“Hill. She works for me now.”

Steve took a breath. “Oh.”

“Steve, you can have the big bedroom, bed should fit you, it’s there. Sam, there are some guest rooms too, pick whichever you like. I’ll, uh, be on the balcony.”

Steve blinked and finally took a look at the room. Unlike the sleek modern lines in the penthouse and common area, this apartment was furnished in a more comfortable, homey style, with lots of wood instead of metal and glass and plastic. Sam gave him a shrug, shouldered his backpack and the duffle containing what was left of his wings, and headed off in search of a room. Steve lifted his own pack and headed into the bedroom Tony had indicated.

The room had clearly been designed with him in mind, with warm colors and windows that faced the sunrise, a wooden easel placed perfectly to catch the light. The bed was made in a soft, solid blue. And there were the photographs.

Steve set his pack on the bed and leaned his shield against the wall before picking up one of the photographs - of all of the Howling Commandos, smiling. He remembered when it was taken. Carefully, he set it back on the dresser and went back outside, onto the balcony. Tony didn’t turn to look at him, he was leaning on the balcony and looking at the lights below.

“Stark,” Steve started.

“That’s my father’s name,” Tony said. “Don’t say thank you. Or yell at me. Or whatever. Sometimes I get presents wrong, but hear me out. It’s not just a gift. It’s an idea I had, and you need to hear it before you say anything.”

Steve leaned against the balcony beside him, watching his profile.

“I never really trusted SHIELD. But after the Invasion, after everything, I knew that there would have to be something. Something other than SHIELD, something that only had one agenda and that agenda had to be to protect the people. Us. The world needs us, the Avengers. And in order for the Avengers to work, we have to get out from under SHIELD. So when I had to fix the tower, this is how I fixed it. For the Avengers. Everyone has a place here, with room to grow. So far, Bruce is the only one that’s taken me up on it. I was hoping that maybe now that would change.”

“Did you know about HYDRA?” Steve asked. “Your . . . hacking?”

Tony shook his head. “I should have. But if I had I never would’ve given them the repulsor tech they were using to get those carriers airborne. I was one of their targets, you know? And they killed my parents. Hell no, I didn’t know. I just knew I couldn’t trust them.  I liked Fury well enough, but even him I didn’t trust.”

"He's alive."

"Figures," Tony sighed and leaned forward, his elbows on the railing. "Anyway, I did this to be a sort of home base. For the Avengers, the ones Fury put together and the ones we will recruit ourselves. There's room to grow. And a foundation set up - Pepper's in control of that, not me - to fund everything. SI R&D at our disposal should we need it. You're the first. Well, the second to know really. I had to give Bruce the lab and his apartment to keep him from heading off to Dubai."

"It's a good idea," Steve said.

Tony turned around, the first real, genuine smile Steve had ever seen him give lighting up his face. "Really?"

Steve smiled back. "Really."

"I thought you would yell at me for doing this without consulting anyone."

"Well, you didn't decorate my bed in a flag, so I think I can live with it."

Tony smirked. "You haven't seen the dinnerware yet."

 

 


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some discussions, some planning, some recruiting, oh, and maybe some hints as to what Bucky's up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual disclaimers. Not mine, no money made, etcetera

The beds weren’t too soft, and Steve awoke from a remarkably deep sleep to the pink sunlight drifting in through windows he’d told the computer - JARVIS - not to darken when it had been offered. He walked over and looked down at the street, stretching, and then pulled a t-shirt and sweatpants from one of the drawers of the dresser.

He’d found that last night, when he’d started to put away the scant possessions he’d brought with him. The dresser and closet were stocked with spare clothes and shoes in his size. And leaning against one shelf in the closet was an artist’s portfolio case the perfect size for holding large canvases or, in his case, a large round shield. There was a new uniform, too.

It was simultaneously overwhelming and infuriating that Stark had done all of this, even when, as he made clear last night, he’d had no reason to assume that Steve would appreciate it. Why would someone expend all of this effort when they were certain they’d be rejected?

After a shower and dressing in clothes that weren’t exactly borrowed, Steve headed out into the apartment that could only be called his. Sam was seated at the kitchen island eating pancakes off of a star spangled plate, drinking coffee out of a mug printed with the American flag. Steve couldn’t help but chuckle.

“So this isn’t borrowed guest quarters, is it? This is your apartment,” Sam said, grinning at him. “Damn, Steve, you should’ve told me you had a sugar-daddy. I could get used to living like this.”

“I had no idea he was doing this,” Steve shrugged. “Starks, in my experience, are the sort to do things first and ask forgiveness later. Or not at all.”

Steve grabbed an apple from the filled fruit basket that hadn’t been sitting on the counter the night before and bit into it.

“He wants to move all the Avengers in here,” he said.

“Well, he’s got half of them,” Sam grinned. “Gotta catch ‘em all.”

Steve gave him a blank look.

“Nevermind. I took my wings up to Stark this morning, he’s gone to do something corporate and said we have the run of the building and to ask JARVIS or Dr. Banner if we need anything.”

“I thought I might take a run around the park,” Steve said.

“Sounds good. Just don’t go looking for Barnes without backup, okay,” Sam said. “I think I might have a look around and then see what sort of entertainment center being a billionaire can buy.”

Steve nodded and headed out the door, stepping into the elevator that opened obligingly when he came close to it. He turned and looked at the panels. There were no buttons.

“Um,” he said. “JARVIS?”

“Just state where you would like to go, Captain,” JARVIS explained.

“Right,” Steve said. “Uh, ground floor. The lobby. I’m going for a run.”

* * *

When Steve got back he went looking for Sam on the common floor they’d been on last night. He didn’t find Sam, but Bruce was back in the chair he’d been in, with a steaming pot of tea and a cup on the table next to him, reading from a tablet.

“Hey, Cap,” he said with a gentle smile. “Tony gave you your place, then? I’m on the floor below. Specially reinforced, just in case I stumble across Fox News in some late night channel surfing or something.”

Steve smiled. “It’s a little . . .”

“Yeah, I know. Overwhelming,” Bruce said. “Tony tends to go a bit overboard with the grand gestures. He never really thinks anyone likes him for him, so he tries to make friends by buying stuff. Just be glad Pepper talked him into letting her handle the decorating.”

“Where is Ms. Potts?” Steve asked. “I’d’ve expected to see her around more.”

“Oh, it hasn’t hit the news yet. They broke it off,” Bruce said. “It’s probably hard enough being with Tony, when you add Ironman on top of that, it gets particularly complicated. I get to hear all about it, when he’s not working until he falls asleep standing up. They’re still friends, but I doubt you’ll see much of her for a while.”

Steve frowned and nodded, then sank onto one of the plush sofas. “It is a good idea he’s got. Getting the Avengers out from under SHIELD - what’s left of it, anyway. Making them independent. I don’t know if Natasha or Clint will go for it, though. They were with SHIELD for a long time.”

“Where are they, anyway? I hope they’re okay, both Tony and I went over a lot of the data that was released. It could be bad for them.”

“Madripoor,” Steve said. “I think she’s gone after him, to let him know he’s been burned, if he doesn’t know it yet.”

“Best we can figure, Thor’s still in Asgard. We’ll know if he shows up again, though, and have left word with Jane that he has a place here,” Bruce said. “What about Sam?”

“What about me?” Sam said, walking over from the elevator.

“Would it be okay, you think?”

“You don’t understand it yet, do you?” Bruce said. “Tony’s given you control over the whole thing. The keys to the castle. Access to his entire database, even the ability to override his own suit should it be compromised.”

“What?” Steve did a double-take.

Bruce smiled again, sipping at his tea. “It means you decide what about Sam.”

“Oh,” Steve said.

“Again,” Sam said. “What about me?”

“Do you want to be an Avenger?” this question came from the hallway, where a suited and groomed Tony Stark stood leaning against the wall, sunglasses low on his nose. Steve absently thought that he looked good, but false, and that the version they’d seen last night in the stained t-shirt and jeans was more genuine. “That’s what you two were wondering, right? He’d fit right in, especially once I get his new wings made.”

Bruce nodded. Steve turned around and looked at Sam, waiting.

Sam gaped at the three of them before nodding. “Does this mean I get an action figure?”

* * *

It was late that afternoon when there was finally a ping on the search. Tony was down in his workshop working on a new set of wings for Falcon, having scrapped the old ones once he’d looked them over. He was bent over his table, welding, when JARVIS alerted him, and he stood up and pushed the goggles up, pulling up a screen.

“Play it again?”

The security reel played and the man in the footage looked up giving a scant glimpse of the face beneath the shadow of the baseball cap, but it was enough. Tony checked the time-stamp. It was yesterday.

“J, call the airport to have the plane ready and have Happy waiting downstairs, oh, and tell Rogers we’ve got something,” he said, grinning, as he turned off the oxyacetalene feed to the torch and headed to the door. “We’re going to Washington.”


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Sam go to look into the clue Tony found.

Steve watched the footage in silence, replaying it several times. Eventually, he nodded and turned around.

“He’s looking for information on who he really is,” Steve said, running a hand through his hair. “That’s why he’s at the museum. There’s as much about Bucky as there is about me.”

Tony smiled. “The time stamp was for yesterday, but it’s probably still worth checking out.”

“Damn, we were in D.C. yesterday. Even stopped by on our way out to return what was left of the uniform,” Sam said. “We just missed running inito him.”

“I’ve got the plane gassed up for you, Rogers,” Tony said, watching Steve carefully. The soldier had lifted a hand and was running a finger over and through the holographic display, stroking Barnes’s face. The tender wistfulness in his expression made Tony feel like he was intruding.

Eventually Steve shook his head. “No, I’ll drive down. You shouldn’t put yourself to any trouble. It’s enough that you’ve done this.”

“It was no problem. Literally. All I did was tell JARVIS what to do and sit back and let him work,” Tony said. “No effort was involved. And this is time sensitive, we still have no idea where he went when he left the museum, though I have JARVIS trying to follow his movements from the museum through camera footage. The sooner you get down there, the closer you can be to catching him.”

“I don’t want to keep living off of you, Stark, even if I do agree to living here,” Steve said.

“Sure you will,” Tony said. “Say ‘Thank you, Tony, I will take your plane to Washington.’”

Steve sighed, but relented. “Thank you, Tony, I will take your plane to Washington.”

“Excellent,” Tony grinned. “JARVIS, call Pepper and tell her I can’t make that meeting, I’m helping the cause of freedom and justice.”

“Sir, Ms. Potts informed you last time that you would have to call her yourself should you wish to escape your duties.”

Tony’s face fell. “Damn.”

“Stark, you can’t ignore your work for this,” Steve said. “Sam and I can handle it.”

Tony waved them off and walked silently to the door, walking out without a word.

Sam stood up. “He is right, we should get going before the lead gets cold, if it isn’t already.”

Steve stared over at where Tony had disappeared.

“Yeah,” he said, picking up the portfolio carrier containing his shield and started toward the door, Sam following. When they got to the elevator, Sam leaned against the wall.

“What are you going to do if we find him?” he said.

Steve shrugged. “Try to talk to him? Convince him to come back here?”

“You think it’s a good idea to bring him back here?” Sam asked. “That kind of brainwashing, not to mention realizing what he has done over the years. It’s going to take more than just you talking to him to make him whole again.”

“I know,” Steve said. “I’ll engage a psychiatrist, whatever it takes. It’s probably a good thing, you joining the Avengers, too.”

Sam grinned. “Why is that?”

“I’m beginning to think we might all need group therapy.”

* * *

The curators were all too happy to help the subject of their exhibit, even as Steve kept apologizing for returning the uniform in the way he’d returned it. They allowed Sam and Steve to go through the security footage and check the ticket records, and the pair spent several hours fast-forwarding through tape not just from the Captain America exhibit, but also from the lobby and each of the ticket windows. One of the time-stamps was only a few minutes after Steve and Sam had been in the museum to return the battered uniform.

Bucky had gone back into the exhibit three times over the course of the day, but had paid for cash each time. Tracking credit cards would be no use. Questioning the ticket vendors only told them that he’d come back again the next morning, too.

Eventually, Sam dragged Steve away and back to his apartment. The soldier was frustrated and angry with himself for missing Bucky, for not realizing that he was there.

“Steve, man, it’s alright,” Sam said. “We barely missed him. We’ll find him, or he’ll find us.”

Steve leaned back on the sofa, picking at the carton of take-out they’d picked up. “Do you think he’s looking for us too?”

Sam shrugged. “I dunno, but that’s a man looking for answers and I don’t know of anyone else who has more answers than you do. You know more about Bucky Barnes than anyone.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, “If he can decide he can trust me.”

They ate in silence, and Sam flicked on the TV, pulling up a baseball game and sitting back to watch. Steve sketched absently on a napkin as he watched, only realizing after he’d nearly finished that he was sketching Tony’s face, specifically the expression he’d had when JARVIS told him that he’d have to go to the meeting or call Ms. Potts himself. There were so few moments when Tony allowed himself to drop the false smiles and bravado that in that moment he had seemed naked.

“What do you think about moving into the tower?” Steve asked. “Really, now that you’re away and have had a chance to think about it?”

Sam smiled. “If I get a pad like yours and don’t have to pay rent, you mean?”

Steve snorted. “When you put it like that . . .”

“Of course, the catch is that I have to risk my life on a regular basis because I’m just an ordinary human and not a god or a science experiment,” Sam said. “But then I made that choice when I enlisted, didn’t I?”

“I guess you did,” Steve said. “I guess we all did.”

“I grew up reading comic books, Steve,” Sam said. “There aren’t that many superheroes that look like me. And to think I’ve been asked to be a superhero, one on Captain America’s team no less? Hell yes, I want to do it. It’s not something I could say no to even if it didn’t come with the perk of a free apartment in the most expensive building in New York.”

“Then I suppose we should get you packed up?”

“I guess we should,” Sam grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing this at work and am going to try to post everything I have at the end of the day, this could result in some really short chapters and some long ones depending on how busy I am, but here you go.


	4. Chapter 4

“I know. This looks bad.”

Steve had taken the elevator up to the common floor looking for milk, but paused before entering the room upon hearing voices.

“You’ve had worse.” Natasha. She was back. The other voice must’ve been . . .

“You’re bleeding all over my couch, Barton,” Tony said as Steve rounded the corner to see, yes, Clint Barton was bleeding all over the sofa. “Morning, Capsicle.”

Bruce was bent over Barton, who was slumped on the sofa holding his arm and covered with bruises and scratches. A large first-aid kit was out, and Bruce was carefully disinfecting the worst of the cuts. Natasha was sitting next to Clint, half holding him up, and looking as immaculate as always. Tony was sitting in a chair looking bored and drinking coffee. Agent Hill was standing near the window looking annoyed.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me they were back?” Steve asked, looking Clint over, noting injuries.

“Told Sam. He said you were out for your morning run,” Tony yawned.

“And I decided that treating Clint’s injuries needed to take priority over the debrief,” Bruce said, shooting a frown at Hill, who gave a little one-shouldered shrug in response.

“It looks worse than it is,” Clint said. “Nothing’s broken, just . . .”

Nat sighed. “The locals didn’t take kindly to finding out he was a spy.”

“And here I thought I was a terrorist, now,” Clint grumbled.

Steve sat down. “Not a terrorist. An Avenger.”

Tony nodded.

“And Cap and Stark are agreeing on things now? Work Wife, you’ve returned me to bizarro world.”

Bruce chuckled. “I think it’s through some carefully orchestrated avoiding each other, but they’ve lasted almost a week, so don’t jinx it.”

“HEY,” Tony said. “No love. I get no love here.”

Steve looked around the room at the odd collection of people and smiled.

“Not bizarro world, Clint,” he said. “She just brought you home.”

* * *

Eventually Hill managed to wrangle them into gathering around the huge table. Tony, in his Armani, lounged at the head with a giant mug of coffee, with Steve on one side of him and Hill on the other.

“JARVIS’ll keep the minutes,” he said with a smirk. “I call the first meeting of the non-SHIELD Avengers to order. Minus one viking, of course.”

“Are you sure you want Wilson here?" Hill asked. "He hasn’t been vetted.”

“I had JARVIS run the necessary checks as soon as I identified him, Hill,” Tony said. “He’s almost as clean as our Captain Rogers, and that’s saying something.”

“Don’t you trust anyone, Stark?” Steve asked, frowning.

“Trusted someone once,” Tony said. “Almost got me killed, and did get a lot of innocent civilians killed. I’ve accepted that I’m not a very good judge of character.”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t mind. Have to pass a background check for almost any job these days.”

“That’s not the point,” Steve said. “Tony, you can’t just go around poking in people’s business without their permission.”

“Can we please get on with the debrief?” Hill asked.

“Well, at least the world makes sense again,” Clint said.

“Rogers and Wilson, what did you find out in D.C.? Any further leads on Winter Soldier?” Hill asked, ignoring the glares being sent between Tony and Steve.

Natasha sat up and looked at them both.

“It was a dead end, we don’t know where he went from the museum,” Steve said. “But the good news is that he does appear to be looking for information into his past life.”

Natasha frowned. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he can be trusted.”

“She’s right,” Clint said. “That kind of brain-washing, if he’s remembering it could send him toward a full-fledged mental break. Wouldn’t be the first time it happened.”

“He pulled me out of the river,” Steve said. “That’s got to count for something.”

“JARVIS, you got anything on where Barnes went after the museum?” Tony asked, leaning back in his chair and avoiding Steve's eyes.

“I was able to track him to the train where a man was assaulted and robbed, but he managed to evade cameras after leaving the platform. I picked him up again on a convenience store security camera in New Jersey, he was driving a stolen car which was then found abandoned on the freeway. From there, I have nothing, sir.”

Steve sighed.

“We’ll find him, Cap, don’t worry,” Sam said.

“Yeah, but are we finding him to take him in or to help him?” Steve asked.

“Right now, those both might be the same thing,” Natasha said, giving Clint a look.

“What about you, Barton? How did the mission go before you got burned?” Hill asked.

“I made the dead drop,” Clint said. “Just barely before I got caught, but how do I know the person picking it up was SHIELD or HYDRA?”

“The pickup was made by someone we trust,” Hill said. “Don’t worry about that. It’s in good hands.”

“And what, exactly, was being picked up and who is this person who has it now?” Tony asked. “Don’t forget that you work for Stark Industries now, not Fury. I'm your boss.”

“Names, locations, and information on some people continuing the AIM research that you and Potts ran into, and their potential new connections,” Clint said.

Hill glared at him.

“Maria, Fury’s in the wind. Victoria and Phil are dead,” Clint said. “You have to let someone in, and if Stark and Cap are stepping up to the plate I’m not going to be standing in their way.”

Tony was fuming. “Fury told me Extremis was destroyed.”

“Nick thought it was. But then a team of ours came across it again. Someone was continuing research. Now we think they got the research directly from us.”

“Great,” Tony threw up his hands. “And this trusted agent? Because clearly, I couldn’t trust Fury to take care of things.”

“I can’t release his identity at this time,” Hill said.

“You work for me now, Maria,” Tony said. “You and your former Shieldlings exist to provide intel to the Avengers. So provide.”

“It. He,” she looked at Clint and Natasha helplessly. “It’s very important that this goes no further than this table.”

Steve nodded. “Absolutely, if there is an agent in the field in danger, we know how important it is to keep him safe. There are so few we can trust anymore.”

“And how do we know we can trust this guy if we don’t know his name?” Tony asked.

“It’s not just him. He’s in charge of a team, and believe me, they can be trusted,” Hill said, but she looked down at her hands. “There was one . . . _problem_ , but it has been exposed and removed.”

“If there was one HYDRA agent in the team there could be more,” Natasha said. “I never imagined Sitwell would . . .”

“None of us did,” Hill sighed. “The team. It’s under the command of Phil Coulson, the new director of SHIELD. Do you think you can trust them now?”

* * *

It took the necessity of getting Hulk into his ‘playpen’ to calm the uproar over Hill’s announcement, and in the kerfuffle, Hill had disappeared back down to her office and out of the line of fire. They sat in the middle of what was left of the common floor living area, Stark nursing a glass of scotch, Clint and Natasha sharing a bottle of vodka, and Steve, for once, heartily wishing that he could get drunk. They were all watching the feed from Hulk’s containment unit.

“Smart,” Natasha said after a while, “installing the Hulk-proof freight elevator.”

“Bruce designed it and insisted on it. Only way he’d agree to live here,” Tony said.

“It’s a good thing one of you is responsible,” Steve said.

“So Coulson is alive,” Tony said, draining his glass. “Bet he’s pissed off about those damn cards.”

“And the new director of SHIELD,” Steve said.

Natasha shrugged. “Right now, SHIELD pretty much only consists of six people, his team. And there couldn’t be a better Director. Knowing him, he’ll be happy to take a back seat to Cap.”

“Or kneel in front of him,” Tony smirked.

“Tony!” Steve said. Clint and Natasha just glared.

“One question,” Sam mumbled from underneath a bag of frozen peas. He’d gotten caught in the crossfire when Hulk had thrown a chair at Hill. “Who is this Coulson guy anyway?”


	5. 5

            “Captain Rogers, could you please make your way to the workshop?” JARVIS asked politely. “I would ask Dr. Banner, but he is still indisposed.”

Steve looked up from the sketch he’d just started, still barely outlines. “Is something wrong?”

“Sir has consumed an excess of alcohol and is on the verge of experimenting on himself,” JARVIS said. “I am programmed to inform Ms. Potts should these circumstances occur, but in her absence . . .”

Steve frowned and put down his sketch pad. “Does this happen often?”

“Not as much now as it once did, Captain,” the A.I. answered.

Steve headed to the door, after some hesitation grabbing his shield on the way.

* * *

Steve stepped out of the elevator into a hallway that was nearly completely white and sterile, everything glass and plastic and metal. To one side, the glass wall was vibrating with percussive rhythm, but the glass was shadowed so that Steve couldn’t see inside. It was to those doors that JARVIS sent him, with the instruction to duck when he walked through the door.

He did. A coffee mug crashed and broke harmlessly against his shield and he peeked over it. The workshop was a mess, broken crockery and machinery everywhere and a large scorchmark on one wall. A stack of papers was smouldering slightly. In one corner, there was the collapsed remnants of a suit, unpainted and gleaming silver.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Tony yelled over the music, hefting another mug in his hand as if he wanted to throw it. The music lowered, fractionally, to somewhat less than ear-splitting levels.

“Your, uh, computer said you might need me?”

“JARVIS, did I ask you to get Rogers? Did I at any point say ‘Gee, I wish I had the embodiement of the American dream to look at?’”

“No, sir,” JARVIS said.

Tony sank onto the floor and leaned against one of the workbenches. “Even my AI is against me.”

“Stark,” Steve started. “Tony, what’s wrong?”

“Extremis,” Tony said. “It nearly killed Pepper, blew her to pieces. I had to rewrite everything just to get it out of her. Gave my research to SHIELD because I figured they might run into some more of AIM’s test subjects, never expected them to turn around and start making more of them.”

Steve nodded and sat down next to him. “You couldn’t have anticipated HYDRA being in the mix.”

“I thought I was going to lose her,” Tony said. “And then I did. Did everything to keep her, took the arc reactor out of my chest, told her I was hanging up the suit, started trying to build an unmanned suit so that I wouldn’t have to put myself in danger to help the Avengers. Didn’t work.”

Steve sighed. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to deal with a heartbroken soldier. “You got any whisky?” he asked.

Tony raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you seriously asking me that question?”

“Alright, where is your whisky?” Steve asked again.

“It’s okay,” Tony said. “I understand what you’re trying to do and I’ve already done enough drinking over Pepper. She was right, we work better as friends. Hurts, but that’s not what’s got me so mad. It’s Extremis.”

Steve tilted his head. “Tell me about it? I may not understand all the science, but you can explain why it’s so bad?”

“Super strength, fast healing,” Tony said. “That’s what AIM was going for, but they were looking too narrow. Perfected, the code could give someone so much more. Access to every computer network in the world, the ability to enrich or bankrupt entire economies with a single thought, access to government secrets, weapon plans, hell, access to whatever they wanted. They could just walk past most advanced security systems. Even mine. I just hope they haven’t thought that far and are still focusing on making invulnerable soldiers.”

“You can figure out a way to fight it, and we’ll take care of it,” Steve said. “You don’t have to fix it alone, you know. The Avengers are there to back each other up, when we need it. And that’s what we’ll do.”

“Really,” Tony said. “You’re going to help me out on a tremendously difficult scientific problem, Mr. New To This Century?”

Steve smiled. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, Cap, I do,” Tony said. “And thanks. Now go. Get out. I have work to do.”


End file.
